FW's Next Area to Revitalize?

As urban/mixed-use/pedestrian-friendly development continues, what neighborhood do you think will follow in the footsteps of Downtown, the Cultural District, and the Near Southside?

Downtown began its resurgence in the 1980s with the conversion of historic buildings and construction of high-rise office buildings. In the 1990s, many urban condos/apartments/townhouses options came available Downtown in projects such as Sundance West, Sanger Lofts, Historic Electric Building, & several others. The 2000s saw continued development of all sorts with the Omni, renovation of The Tower, Trinity Uptown, several office buildings, and numerous other projects both large & small.

The Cultural District has experienced a tremendous transformation in the past couple of years into a dense, mixed-use destination with infill projects both large & small. Arguably due to its many cultural attractions and its ideal location between Downtown and the prominent neighborhoods of the Westside.

The Near Southside has emerged in just the last few years as perhaps the city's most eclectic area with home rehabilitation, loft conversions, and new infill. I attribute their success to being a large employment center (medical institutions), its proximity to Downtown, traditional urban aesthetics(street grid/historic structures), and strong neighborhood association (Fort Worth South Inc).

***To get to the point (i know it took me a while), what area do you think will be next to experience widepsread revitalization in the form of dense, mixed-use development?***

Here are some possibilities:

STOCKYARDS: this area already has the bones of a traditional urban neighborhood; it is relatively close to downtown; possesses a number of bars, restaurants, and entertainment venues; and has several structures that would be great residential conversions. The possible cons of this area are that many Fort Worthians see it as way too kitsch & touristy.

RACE STREET/RIVERSIDE: Close to Downtown and is beginning to see several restaurants and bars move into the area.

CAMP BOWIE/RIDGLEA: Benefits from being adjacent to many of the city's wealthiest neighborhoods and to the Cultural District.

TEXAS WESLEYAN/MASONIC HOME/SOUTHEAST FW: This area I know the least about. It has a number of great historic buildings, a university, and could possibly be served by the future FW Streetcar system. Cons are that it is a part of town that many people rarely venture into.

TCU/BERRY STREET: Student population, served by several major thoroughfares.

If the economy recovers, stabilizes and enters into a period of actual wealth creation and growth (as opposed to another artificial credit bubble) than any of what you describe is possible.

If the economy settles into long-term European style stagnation or worse - well, none of it is likely and we might end up seeing parts of town which are ok now begin to look shabby around the edges. If things go especially badly, it might take years or even decades for us to get back to the point where we were.

Economic growth and progress is not automatic and should not be regarded as a given. For example, if you were to ask a similar question in Michigan, upstate New York, parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania and plenty of other places, the locals would look at you like you are crazy. Yes, Texas is different than those states - and it is those differences which make your question sound plausible when you ask it about Fort Worth. But the fact is that our local economy is not autonomous from and cannot escape the impact of trends with the national economy which, unfortunately for us, is, in many ways, heading straight down the same path that did in those states I mentioned. But trends can be reversed - assuming we are not already too far down that path to recover.

So my thought is, at this point, it is an open question as to IF there will be a "next area" anytime soon - not what area it will be.

It is a shame that Dismuke is "right on" with correlation between nifty growth and the economy. Unfortunately, tjh1's inquiry of possible growth may be somewhat optimistic and Dismuke's assessment may be more realistic I can go in that same direction and go way pessimistic. I would also ask this question. Let's pretend the economy not only does not do well in the coming years, nor stagnate, but goes straight to HELL. (Much more likely after this week, than last). What would our neighborhoods look like in that scenario. I will have to admit I have for years had at least some thought into that one.

With the economic crash comes crime. (No, this is not the 30's... a great percentage of the population has had very little meaningful upbringing and have values based on drug availability and the ability of a Government to keep giving them everything for free) The new currencies would be guns, ammo, dope, whiskey, gold, cigarettes and cans of tuna. The stability of individual neighborhoods could depend on their ability to pay for their own defense and proximity to law enforcement and big business.

It is easy to think the future is going to be like the recent past but there are sure no guarantees. Living your life in a manner that assumes impending economic meltdown is surely the wrong way to approach life. But should not be ignored either. It sure could be if a year from now the economy is tanking completely and we are asking ourselves, "Shouldn't I have at least considered this possibility?" There must be something North of building a secure bunker on a farm that makes sense. Will I, at least, wish I had a chest of silver or gold, a few years of canned goods, a few extra boxes of ammo and a more secure home? In my economic news I always want the information I am not getting. Like, what percent of the population is actually contributing resources rather than sucking resources? (ie, actually paying taxes. Not withholding) I am guessing that index would be at an all time low. And about to get much lower.

If I sound like I got up on the wrong side of the bed I am reporting for Jury Duty at 8:30. Not that I mind Jury Duty. Just don't like the initial phase where I am packed into a room full of icky people. Most of them about to be disqualified for one reason or another. I am guessing the guy sitting next to me will be disqualified for having a load in his pants.

"To take from one, because it is thought that his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, ‘the guarantee to every one of a free exercise of his industry, & the fruits acquired by it.'"

The one I will comment on is the TWU area. My son is a freshman there so that is becoming an area I "venture into."

On the minus side, from what I hear that is one of the areas where there is serious gang activity. TWU is on a territorial "fault line" with rival gangs to the north and south, although I have it on good authority that TWU itself is officially off-limits (as acknowledged by both gangs). That last bit comes from somoene I know at TWU security. Also on the minus side is that the neighborhood around there is terribly blighted. I mean really bad. There was the recent announcement that the sidewalks in the area would be redone, but it will take more than that.

On the plus side: TWU has spurred the redevelopment and renovation of several storefront buildings (too old to be considered strip malls, but of that ilk), moving their bookstore into one of them, across Rosedale from the main campus. This, I think, is significant in that it spreads the Wesleyan "bubble" across Rosedale. The other plus is that Rosedale itself from I-35W to about Beach Street (just west of TWU) is being reconstructed from the ground up, making the right of way about twice as wide.

Other positive tidbits that I've heard include that (if the streetcar system moves forward) there will eventually a Rosedale line that goes out to TWU (I think it's a stub in the current plan). I've also heard that there will be a passenger rail station on the train tracks that run just north of Wesleyan on the land just the other side of Vickery. If both of these eventually happen, it will put TWU right in the middle of two transporation spurs from the downtown/southside areas out to the east side, making access to downtown easy.

It's not difficult to envision a bubble of redevelopment between Vickery and Rosedale. If TWU could incent their professors to live in that zone, it could become a new urban village within the city. If you look at the Google Maps view of the area it appears that the lot sizes are larger in many of the neighborhoods around this area than they are, for instance, in the TCU neighborhood, so that may be an asset too.

This may be a pipe dream though. I've ridden my bike to TWU and let me tell ya, some of the neighborhoods around the campus are pretty rough. I think any redevelopment will be nacent a generation or more. Fairmount is starting to flower now; it was already starting to redevelop 20 years ago. It took quite a while to get as far as they have and there's still work to be done. I think the East Rosedale area isn't even up to the point that Fairmount was in 20 years ago. It would really take Wesleyan finding a wealthy, well-connected patron to help move things along I think.

Considering though, that many of the movers and shakers in Fort Worth grew up on the east side (my wife teaches at Eastern Hills HS and they have many noteworthy alums), including EHHS and TWU alum Kay Granger, there is hope that someone like that might pop out of the woodwork.

Yes, the substantial blight of much of the area around TWU is a huge roadblock in the area's revitalization, but the renovation of the storefronts on Rosedale is great to see and hopefully will spur the redevelopment of other areas immediately surrounding the university.

Yes,this area is real bad.But if the 'Hood hasnt driven away the college already,then they should look to improve the area.I have friends over there and they respect the campus and the students that go there.Redoing Rosedale would be a major upgrade for foot traffic.If only Mamas Pizza would come back!

I know one of the developers doing the work around TWU. I don't think anybody has any illusions about it taking a long time to turn the area around, but you have to start somewhere. The streetscape project of course won't do it alone, but it's a start.

Last time I was over there, I was pleased to see the work that has been done. There's even what I believe is an independent coffee shop open now.

I am glad, though, that the current Rosedale project will not reach all the way to the campus area. TxDOT did something similar to Rosedale through the Near Southside, making it radically wider, and we hate it. It's encouraged speeding and serves as a blight upon the district and a barrier between areas. Fort Worth South, Inc. has already drawn up a plan to re-narrow Rosedale between 8th Avenue and South Main, taking it down to four lanes with on-street parking as well as streetscape improvements. It's been approved and is just waiting to get its funding ducks in a row, so to speak. I wish TxDOT wasn't doing the same to the east side.

I don't know that I would call my previous post "insight". I think of it more as observation and regurgitation.

Yeah, I agree that they shouldn't mess with Rosedale in the immediate viscinity of campus. On the other hand, if street cars ever do go down Rosedale, the reconstruction between I-35W and Beach is probably needed, especially the rail bridge which (based on the path of the new road construction) will be redone.

I'm going to to out on a limb and say Ridglea will warm back up in 10-15 years. While it isn't exactly blighted, it is far from the "hot" retail district right now, as I suspect it was back in the 1950s-60s, when it was the new kid on the block. My predition is that Ridglea continues to bump along (not unhealthy but just as a neighborhood retail destination), and that in approx 15 years it becomes relatively chic again.

For at least the next 10-15 years (2010-2025) I think the Near West Side/Cultural District will be the hotest spot for restaurants, bars, galleries, and retail (retail is just now starting to show up), and urban residential growth. The Near West Side's urban renaissance is essentially an expansion of the urban activity zone in Downtown. Downtown itself will continue its gradual residential and commercial growth and improvement over the next 10 years, but will take a little while to absorb all of the office vacancies that have occurred during the recession. Even if XTO dissapears (hope it doesn't), it will have left behind some remarkably well restored buildings, giving a ton of value to Downtown with or without XTO. Downtown will continue to be THE place for starting and growing small to mid-sized businesses and for recruiting talent.

In case anyone is worried about the Near West Side stealing Downtown's thunder by taking most of its office tenants, that won't happen. The Near West Side has only about 10% the office space as Downtown has and it is zoned so that buildings over about 7-8 stories cannot be built outside of Downtown. So, the Near West Side I think would, if totally built out, max out at about 40-50% the size of Downtown's current office market size. Imagine the car traffic congestion if we don't plan for a street car.

I think the Near Southside will continue its gradual evolution into a more mature bohemian, independent hotbed. It will be lucky that it will not become too hot as that would threaten the delicate environment that allows such cool, independent businesses to grow and thrive. "Hot" neighborhoods typically develop high real estate prices and often wind up attracting some incompatable businesses which ultimately unravel the independent environment that was in place before.

Actually, if we can see a turn soon in economic growth, FW is very well positioned. But if we don't 2011 - 2013 could be tough. This isn't easy to find in the media but Downtown has yet to fall below 90% office occupancy and the Sundance half of downtown remains above 93%. With Quicksilver taking the chunk at Burnett Plaza, there really is no significant occupancy problem lingering from the recession. There is some sublease space that now threatens to become vacancy, but not enough to create market distress.

Fort Worth could pull through well if things picked up just a bit, soon. I know I am glad to be here.

@tjh1 : Yes, the substantial blight of much of the area around TWU is a huge roadblock in the area's revitalization, but the renovation of the storefronts on Rosedale is great to see and hopefully will spur the redevelopment of other areas immediately surrounding the university.

Have anyone thought about TWU building or taking over an unused structure DTFW, follow TCC. This will add to the people going to school and living DTFW or surrounding sector. I believe they have out of towners going to that school as well, so... hey I'm just saying.

Downtown Fort Worth would be a very busy construction site if all the planned projects were to begin concurrently. The following is not an exhaustive list of projects as roughly described here: Sundance Square plaza development; new office/retail/residential buildings off Lancaster Avenue; Two City Place re-development; the new hotel at the old UW building; completion of the TCC plaza; the new civil courts building; demolition of the monstrosity adjacent to the old courthouse; and, of course, the TRV development. Left anything out? Do we have enough cranes?

Downtown Fort Worth would be a very busy construction site if all the planned projects were to begin concurrently. The following is not an exhaustive list of projects as roughly described here: Sundance Square plaza development; new office/retail/residential buildings off Lancaster Avenue; Two City Place re-development; the new hotel at the old UW building; completion of the TCC plaza; the new civil courts building; demolition of the monstrosity adjacent to the old courthouse; and, of course, the TRV development. Left anything out? Do we have enough cranes?

Better Business Bureau: A place to find or post valid complaints for auto delerships and maintenance facilities. (New Features) If you have a valid gripe about auto dealerships, this is the place to voice it.

EAST SIDE. Mainly focus on the East. That area seems to have been ignored compared to the other projects we've seen.

I agree that there's opportunity on the East side. But I don't think that's where the development is headed.

I think the near Southside will start getting more development. It gets a lot of discussion now, but if you look at the size of the area compared to the amount of actual new development it still looks pretty under-developed in my opinion. But, one thing it has going for it relative to many areas is cleared lots. It sure makes new construction easier.

The problem with the East side is that the demographics won't support the same kind of business development that West 7th or downtown can. The East side needs more of a grass roots cultural push like the Bishop Arts district in Oak Cliff. The people and businesses of East Fort Worth have to do something to draw people in.

It seems like Race street had some of that momentum for a little while. Haven't heard much from up there lately.

I am not educated in such ways, but are the 3 7th street projects considered a big success with all of the emptiness, and quick openings and closings? How long can investors wait for spots to be filled?

I am not educated in such ways, but are the 3 7th street projects considered a big success with all of the emptiness, and quick openings and closings? How long can investors wait for spots to be filled?

Obviously we're spoiled in Fort Worth when "all the emptiness" refers to the type of occupancy that we have in So7/West 7th/Museum Place. The office and apartment space in every development is basically leased, so you've got a little bit of retail left but in general I'd say these developments have done remarkably well considering the economy over the past 3 years.

Quick openings and closings are commonplace in new retail developments, even in great economic times. So, the retail activity is pretty normal. If you throw in the economy into the mix, I would say the developments in the Cultural District have weathered the storm fairly well.

A good sign of revitalization progress is when delayed projects get going again and when empty buildings that formerly housed businesses are newly renovated and occupied. Examples of project renewal include the Bryant Irvin/West Vickery building; the Midtown development; he West Camp Bowie/Ridglea development that used to be Striplings & Cox; and the Tandy Center renovation. Examples of newly renovated and occupied structures include that old furniture warehouse next to the Academy (former Neiman-Marcus mall) on the city’s west side and now an office building I believe; same, too, with that old ice skating rink near the Highway 377/183 traffic circle. And, in and around town, I’ve noticed some long-vacant lots being developed. Fort Worth’s economy seems to be picking up!

Yes, the old Levitz Furniture Store and Warehouse at 6913 Camp Bowie is being converted into office space with some warehousing in the back. The northwest corner of the building was demolished and new truck docks were added in that recessed area. My firm inherited that project from another architectural firm, and we did the new office/warehouse space in the western portion of the building and the exterior work on the eastern portion of the building. I am the project architect on the eastern exterior work. There was a recessed dock with dock doors on that portion of the building and we filled in the recessed dock, removed the dock doors, and replaced them with aluminum storefront. A tile wainscot has been placed on the front of the building and above the new storefront are awnings. The building has also been painted. It's fitting that we have finally had a chance to revitalize this building because I have been doing studies on the structure off and on for about 10 years.

Back in May, the roof in our building sprung a big leak and our firm has been trying to get the landlord to put a new roof on it. The roof was only patched and our lease was up, so Halbach-Dietz will be moving to one of the office spaces in the building. I will hate to leave our space at 4388 W. Vickery, but it will be nice to have a new office. We're supposed to be open in our new location on November 1st.

Just read in the current Texas Wesleyan Rambler that a shopping center is going up at East Berry & Mitchell, to be anchored by a Wal-Mart Supercenter. I have driven to school that way, and if I remember right, it's the huge tract of vacant land between Mitchell and Vaughn/287.This will be a huge development for that side of town, bringing a much-needed source of fresh food to the area, not to mention jobs. In the article, Kathleen Hicks says the project has been in the works since 2005 but is moving "full speed ahead."

Here's a link to the Fort Worth Forum Discussion Topic on the center. [url="http://www.fortwortharchitecture.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=3596&st=0&p=53674&hl="masonic"&fromsearch=1&#entry53674"]http://www.fortworth...h=1[/url]

This has been in the works for a while and it did raise some historic preservation issues because several of the Masonic Home & School historic buildings were demolished for the development. However, most of the significant buildings were saved and purchased by the All Church Home.

Back on topic, anyone have news of any developments along Hemphill? Especially anything south of Allen Avenue?
In a recent neighborhood meeting I learned that the Tortilla Factory at Biddison was bought by the muffler shop across the street. Not sure I'm super excited about that.

I think the CVS going up at Seminary and Hemphill is a positive addition.

I haven't heard any more news about the Wal Mart purchase of the Travis South Complex, but the news is going around church in a kind of "did you hear?" fashion, so I suppose it is still happening.

The building designs for Sundance Square revitalization are impressive and will add variety to the plaza area. If I’m not mistaken, do these three planned structures “fill in” the remaining spaces in the inner downtown area? If so then future projects downtown will mean either demolition of older buildings and renewal of the interior or peripheral expansion to the north (Trinity River area), south (empty warehouses), and the east. In particular, the East Lancaster corridor should be the focus of urban revitalization, in my opinion. I’m not opposed to missions and I'm not hard-hearted about the homeless and underprivileged. But while driving in that area the other day I couldn't help feeling how terribly blighted it is. The goal of every city is renewal and growth, not stagnation.

here's 600 grand our federal government is forking out for a study. for a government that's broke ..... zero restraint

Spurring economic development, housing options and public transportation alternatives in West Fort Worth has Jim Ryan excited.“Anything that benefits the base is going to benefit us,” said Ryan, economic development director with the city of White Settlement.“The base” Ryan referred to was the Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, which could see more nearby restaurants, retail outlets and housing options as the result of an ongoing study examining ways to bring more business into West Fort Worth and neighboring communities – including White Settlement, River Oaks and other municipalities surrounding the Joint Reserve Base.The idea is to support development compatible with base operations.A $600,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is funding the study, with a $200,000 local match from the Regional Transportation Council. The goal of what officials call Planning for Livable Military Communities is to attract businesses to the area to maximize its existing cultural and retail resources.

It's always tough for a distressed entity to allocate remaining spending in a way that will make everyone happy. Was it this kind of spending that put the federal government in the hole it's in? No. Is this the kind of spending that is easy it to cut out? Yes. Should it be? Maybe, maybe not.

I generally look at this as long-term development related spending, which could have a generally positive impact on tax revenue. Does this specific $600,000 pay for itself and if so, when? Who knows. I do know that you can't just cut all the spending that is forward looking anymore thatn IBM can cut R&D spending or Proctor & Gamble can cut advertising spending.

It's also a drop in the bucket. If the federal government doesn't curb entitlement spending, the little bit that goes into discretionary spending won't matter, and if they do materially cut entitlement spending this is easily afforded.

Said another way, I'm a pretty fat guy. I eat a lot and I drink more than my fair share. Should I cut out my Wrigley's Spearmint gum habit?

I went to TWU's law school (now TAMU) in downtown and Texas Wesleyan had a lot to say about revitalizing the area but doesn't actually do a lot to commit resources to improving the area. The area is really bad. There are a few businesses in that strip next to the campus but last year or earlier this year there was a handful of women (presumably students) that were raped going to or coming from that strip. And of course, you can't forget the red light district not too far away on Rosedale. I don't see that area seriously improving unless the school commits resources (and not just monetary) to the area. Instead they just seem to want the city to fix up the neighborhood. That isn't going to happen. Fort Worth is pretty hands off about allocating resources to improving residential neighborhoods and the city is under a massive budget crunch. There isn't money to go around for low level projects like this.

....they just seem to want the city to fix up the neighborhood. That isn't going to happen. Fort Worth is pretty hands off about allocating resources to improving residential neighborhoods and the city is under a massive budget crunch. There isn't money to go around for low level projects like this.

I find that I am in disagreement with your point of view, both practically and a morally.

It is in the city’s best long term practical interest to address urban blight and economic depression. Assuming that one would not rationally deny oneself a tourniquet to prevent potentially dangerous harm to ones survival, then one can assume that it would be an act of negligence if the city were not to employ efforts to sustain the quality and survival of one of its neighborhoods. Blight and its side effects are not containable if left to fester on its own; and I think that the Council is intelligent enough to understand this. Quite frankly, the CBD is an example of a neighborhood that is a recipient of such efforts.

Morally, your point of view seems to stigmatize indiscriminately in a simplistic and negative way all the residents and businesses that are endeavoring to remain in their neighborhood in spite of the challenges that they face. Many, for what ever reason, do not have the option or the desire to resettle to a suburb.

Finally, Fort Worth is home to one of the finest zoos in America; it is also home to one, if not the highest in scholastic achievements by rankings, high school in Tarrant County. Quite frankly, the CBD is an example of a neighborhood that is a recipient of such efforts.

Fort Worth is pretty hands off about allocating resources to improving residential neighborhoods

My experience has been just the opposite. I'm the treasurer of my neighborhood association, and the city's neighborhood outreach program (they call it "neighborhood university") is very effective in getting neighborhoods organized and getting them access to city services. I'm told it's one of the best programs of its kind in the country. There are lots of different resources available to neighborhoods, you just have to know how to ask. Not to say that there's lots of budget, but things like tree trimming, code compliance, neighborhood police officers, playground equipment, etc, are all things neighborhoods can request and get.

Where did you get this idea that FW is "hands-off" with the neighborhoods? Just curious where this is coming from.

....they just seem to want the city to fix up the neighborhood. That isn't going to happen. Fort Worth is pretty hands off about allocating resources to improving residential neighborhoods and the city is under a massive budget crunch. There isn't money to go around for low level projects like this.

I find that I am in disagreement with your point of view, both practically and a morally.

It is in the city’s best long term practical interest to address urban blight and economic depression. Assuming that one would not rationally deny oneself a tourniquet to prevent potentially dangerous harm to ones survival, then one can assume that it would be an act of negligence if the city were not to employ efforts to sustain the quality and survival of one of its neighborhoods. Blight and its side effects are not containable if left to fester on its own; and I think that the Council is intelligent enough to understand this. Quite frankly, the CBD is an example of a neighborhood that is a recipient of such efforts.

Morally, your point of view seems to stigmatize indiscriminately in a simplistic and negative way all the residents and businesses that are endeavoring to remain in their neighborhood in spite of the challenges that they face. Many, for what ever reason, do not have the option or the desire to resettle to a suburb.

Finally, Fort Worth is home to one of the finest zoos in America; it is also home to one, if not the highest in scholastic achievements by rankings, high school in Tarrant County. Quite frankly, the CBD is an example of a neighborhood that is a recipient of such efforts.

Keep Fort Worth folksy

I agree completely that the city should be involved in redeveloping neighborhoods. My argument is that the city does not prioritize those projects as they should. Instead, the city tends to sit around and hope developers will come in and do it for them. Obviously, no city can afford to finance development on its own, but FTW seems to pick some really stupid ways to spend money on developments.

Fort Worth is pretty hands off about allocating resources to improving residential neighborhoods

My experience has been just the opposite. I'm the treasurer of my neighborhood association, and the city's neighborhood outreach program (they call it "neighborhood university") is very effective in getting neighborhoods organized and getting them access to city services. I'm told it's one of the best programs of its kind in the country. There are lots of different resources available to neighborhoods, you just have to know how to ask. Not to say that there's lots of budget, but things like tree trimming, code compliance, neighborhood police officers, playground equipment, etc, are all things neighborhoods can request and get.

Where did you get this idea that FW is "hands-off" with the neighborhoods? Just curious where this is coming from.

Tree trimming is not quite the same as investing resources into a crime-risk area with major infrastructure problems.

I think "North Southside" will be the next booming part of town. The area between Peter Smith and Vickery. We are seeing some of this already with developments like the Phoenix Apartments, Magnolia Lofts at Vickery, Schaumburg Lofts, Supreme Golf and success of business in the area such as bikeshare, Stir Crazy, and Shipping and receiving.

There is already some great urban oriented architecture along S. Main, along the blocks around Jennings and Dagget. Some other great buildings, such as the Fort Worth Recreation Building, Broadway Baptist Church, and the former Stephan F. Austin school. Much of the current development is light industrial, so lots of options for resue of existing structures. Otherwise, empty lots are also abundant.

It's an area very close to downtown, but still independant. The Hemphill-Lamar connector will further ease of access. It's also close to the Magnolia area, which it shares more in common with. Access to I-30 and I-35 is fairly easy, and the TRE station is practically on Vickery. Plenty of jobs nearby involving the hospitals, or north in downtown offices.

I think if the city would be willing to fix up some of the streets in the area, which are currently in very poor shape and provide little to no appeal to pedestrians or cyclists, and perhaps consolidate some of the electric infrastructure, which has ugly wires hanging everywhere, it would really be a potentially nice area.

I think "North Southside" will be the next booming part of town. The area between Peter Smith and Vickery. We are seeing some of this already with developments like the Phoenix Apartments, Magnolia Lofts at Vickery, Schaumburg Lofts, Supreme Golf and success of business in the area such as bikeshare, Stir Crazy, and Shipping and receiving.

There is already some great urban oriented architecture along S. Main, along the blocks around Jennings and Dagget. Some other great buildings, such as the Fort Worth Recreation Building, Broadway Baptist Church, and the former Stephan F. Austin school. Much of the current development is light industrial, so lots of options for resue of existing structures. Otherwise, empty lots are also abundant.

It's an area very close to downtown, but still independant. The Hemphill-Lamar connector will further ease of access. It's also close to the Magnolia area, which it shares more in common with. Access to I-30 and I-35 is fairly easy, and the TRE station is practically on Vickery. Plenty of jobs nearby involving the hospitals, or north in downtown offices.

I think if the city would be willing to fix up some of the streets in the area, which are currently in very poor shape and provide little to no appeal to pedestrians or cyclists, and perhaps consolidate some of the electric infrastructure, which has ugly wires hanging everywhere, it would really be a potentially nice area.

Actually, all sides (maybe excepting east) seem to be developing at a steady pace lately. Since this is the urban planning thread, I wanted to share a thought about our periodic haranguing about so-called "suburban sprawl." The basis for criticism, as I've always understood it, is the relatively recent expansion of satellite communities (e.g., Burleson). We groan about new commercial and residential projects because they mean more population, more traffic congestion, and inadequacies of infrastructure (water, sewer, roads) and emergency services. Let's not forget, however, that some of these communities were distinctly identifiable as towns once upon a time. The simultaneous expansion of both satellite community and central city (e.g. Fort Worth) beginning mostly in the post WWII era, is what we call the diminishment of the town's identity as it comes part of this suburban sprawl phenomenon.

Lately, I get the feeling some of us are using suburban sprawl loosely to mean any new development's impact within the metropolitan area. In another thread, the news about the Outlet Mall project at Alliance may cause chagrin about suburban sprawl. That's understandable, because this area is growing without adequate infrastructure and emergency services.

However, let's not forget a lot of this new growth is occurring within Fort Worth city limits. Is that really what we call "suburban growth"? I don't readily criticize our city's right to grow within its boundaries. Fort Worth decided long ago to annex all this land. You can talk about de-annexation but, in my view, it's too late. So the central city grows! Being a disciple of organization theory, I've long understood that a municipality, as any organization, must grow in order to survive. Obviously I'm not a no-growth reactionary person. If I were a city father, I would be hard-pressed to say no to an ambitious private developer, so long as he has a reasonably good plan. But I still hold to the urban planner's mantra about "managed growth," meaning go slow enough so infrastructure and vital municipal services can catch up. But please don't beggar Fort Worth's right to grow, particularly when FW of late is having its own identity issues (i.e., distinguishing itself as a separate city within the you-know-what Metroplex).

I think if the city would be willing to fix up some of the streets in the area, which are currently in very poor shape and provide little to no appeal to pedestrians or cyclists, and perhaps consolidate some of the electric infrastructure, which has ugly wires hanging everywhere, it would really be a potentially nice area.

They are! Main Street will be re-done according to the Complete Streets model from Vickery to Magnolia in the coming year. I think as that nears completion development/redevelopment along Main is going to really accelerate. It may be my next neighborhood if I can ever escape from the Suburban Sprawl.

I realize my thought piece was out of context regarding revitalization, but I didn't know where else to put it and I didn't want to interrupt Austin55, which is why I included his quote. Sorry, sorry, sorry!

Okay, MY NEXT AREA OF REVITALIZATION is far east Lancaster, around the 3000-5000 block. It's long due for gentrification.

However, let's not forget a lot of this new growth is occurring within Fort Worth city limits. Is that really what we call "suburban growth"? I don't readily criticize our city's right to grow within its boundaries.

Yes, it is "suburban growth," and yes, I want to readily criticize our city's right to grow within its boundaries.

It's "suburban" due to its design. And growth for growth's sake can be extremely detrimental in the long run, if it's built in a manner that is wasteful, and unsustainable (both environmentally and economically, due to the ever-spiraling costs of building more and more roads, etc. to keep up with all the single-mode development). It'll choke the air and suck our funds dry, and only a very few people in the city (population and government) seem to give a care at all. Everybody else, especially the "all growth is good" outer councilpersons, are just driving a truck off a cliff, and the younger generations will get stuck with the bill.

I'm just so ready to get beyond Sundance and Downtown. I love DT and it holds a special place for me as a kid and as a teen. But I'm ready for a signature bridge over Lack Worth. Them Park in Alliance. Major redevelopment at Ridgmar Mall make it four five six times bigger. Fort Worth need to look more outside downtown and 820.

I wonder if Como will be the "next Linwood"... you could easily imagine a developer stringing together several lots and making something good happen. It depends on the city following through with the zoning though.

There have been persistant rumors that the Bass family, through some intermediaries, has been accumulating property in Como for years. I don't know if there's anything to that. It seems inconsistent with their MO, but it highlights that people generally see it as a possibility.

The lake (reservoir), the CTP plus Como's west side location makes it a prime candidate for an upscale residential redevelopment. I have long wonder why it has not yet happened.

Honestly, I think it may be the thorniness of the race issue. It's a Historically Black Neighborhood and if it gentrifies and displaces that demographic, there could be push-back and unfavorable publicity.